At least 146 people have been killed in the Philippines by a mudslide triggered by a typhoon, the Red Cross says. Rains caused by Typhoon Durian brought mud and rocks down hillsides, burying two villages in the foothills of the Mayon volcano, south-east of Manila. Five other villages were also affected, and as the search for the survivors continues, the death toll may rise. In September, nearly 200 people were killed when Typhoon Xangsane hit the north and centre of the country. The mudslides hit Albay province, with main casualties occuring in the villages of Daraga, Busay and Santo Domingo. The area affected is near the city of Legaspi, 350km (220 miles) from the capital, Manila. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

A day after swaggering into court and admitting killing one state trooper and wounding two others, a former fugitive pleaded guilty Thursday to a jail escape that led to the largest manhunt in state history.“Guilty as hell,” Ralph “Bucky” Phillips said when asked by a judge how he wished to plead.In a repeat of court appearances Wednesday, Phillips was upbeat, smiling and waving to supporters on his way in and out of the courtroom. The 44-year-old career criminal broke out of a Buffalo-area jail in April by using an industrial can opener to cut a hole in the kitchen ceiling and eluded authorities for months. Phillips finally surrendered Sept. 8, emerging from a field near the New York-Pennsylvania line with his hands up as police closed in....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15950733/

It's been a violent autumn around the Spotted Cat, a pleasantly divey jazz club in the Marigny neighborhood. Three people were shot Oct. 9 when a man wielding two guns opened fire in the early evening half a block away. Residents, including Spotted Cat cornet player Jack Fine, say muggings have become routine in the lively area full of restaurants and night spots. And on Oct. 17, police reported the discovery of a dismembered and cooked body believed to be that of Adriane "Addie" Hall, a former club employee. A suicide note penned by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Zachary Bowen, before he jumped from a hotel roof, led police to the remains — in the refrigerator, the oven and on the stove in Hall's apartment above a voodoo shop. On a recent afternoon, musicians, barkeeps and barflies met at the Spotted Cat, mourning the loss of a friend they say committed suicide because he was overwhelmed by life after Katrina. They reflected on what feels to them like a new and more ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-30-orleans-crime-cover_x.htm?csp=34

An eighth-grader led his mother and sisters from their home to safety before being shot to death, his aunt said. The mother's live-in boyfriend was charged with murder hours later.An initial court appearance for Todd Curry, 39, was postponed after he was hospitalized.Anthony Tucker, 13, was found outside the home Tuesday with gunshot wounds to the head after neighbors heard gunfire."He was the last one out, and he made sure everybody was out and safe before he shut the door," his aunt Cathy Tucker Elliott said.School officials described Anthony as a quiet leader who was well-liked and protective of his peers."He just more or less tried to make sure everybody was safe," Elliott said....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,233419,00.html

Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon defied leftist protesters on Thursday by vowing to hold his inauguration in Congress despite a sit-in there by opposing lawmakers who say he won the July election by fraud.Calderon, a conservative, ruled out suggestions he should hold Friday's swearing-in ceremony at another venue to avoid trouble. "On taking power, I will go to Congress, not on a whim or because of political strategy, but simply because the constitution demands it," he told reporters. The bitter presidential election has left Mexico sharply divided between left and right and reeling from civil unrest. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2691256

NATO leaders agreed yesterday to add troops to the 32,000 already in Afghanistan, but European countries such as France and Spain retained some of the restrictions that prevent their troops from taking a more active role in the fighting. Bush's goals for the summit were to achieve the troop commitment, persuade other NATO members to pledge increased defense spending, gain a recognition that Afghanistan is a make-or-break fight for the future of NATO, and break down restrictions that keep some allies' troops out of the heaviest fighting in the south, where Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, the United States and Estonia bear the burden. He won progress on all of those goals, though in varying degrees. The final communique makes it clear that Afghanistan is the defining battle for the alliance, but it simply encourages nations to boost defense spending. Although some European nations dropped caveats to deployment, they gave no hard agreement to ...http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20061129-114027-7671r.htm